Grant Guidelines

Tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service may submit grant requests to the Foundation. There are no official forms to use in applying for a grant from the Foundation. Organizations interested in funding should submit a cover sheet, a letter of inquiry, and all accompanying documents via email to grants@bransonfoundation.org. The initial submission must follow the guidelines listed below. Any submission that does not strictly follow these instructions will be discarded without being read.

Cover Sheet

The cover sheet will include the following information in the order listed:

Name of the organization (and acronym if commonly used).

Name of parent organization (if any).

Name and title of chief executive officer or person holding similar position.

Brief summary of the organization’s focus and need for funding (not to exceed three sentences).

Letter of Inquiry

The letter of inquiry should not exceed five pages, should be drafted in paragraph format, and should include two sections: a description of the organization and a description of the project needing funding.

The description of the organization should include the following information in the order listed:

History and mission statement.

Core activities

Number of staff (paid and volunteers).

Primary sources of funding

The description of the project should include the following information in the order listed:

Brief description of the proposed project, including aims and goals of this project and specific methods that will be implemented to meet these goals.

Need that the project will meet and how current programs are not meeting this need.

Why the organization is qualified to undertake the project.

Geographic area or country where the work will take place.

Sustainability of the project.

Timeline for this project.

Total cost of the project with an estimated budget.

Amount of funding requested from the Foundation.

Other funding sources for this project.

Accompanying Documents

The accompanying documents that must be included are:

The organization’s 990 tax form for the past three years.

Letter of tax-exempt status from the IRS.

List of current board members and their affiliations.

Once the Foundation receives an application package that meets the above criteria, the Grant Committee shall send the organization an acknowledgement that the application was received in full. If, after reviewing this initial submission, the Grant Committee Chairperson concludes that there is no prospect of the Foundation funding the project, the Grand Committee Chairperson will notify the organization of this within eight weeks of receiving the initial submission.

With few exceptions, there are no fixed deadlines. The foundation will usually determine whether to award funding at its annual meeting in June of each year. On some instances, the Foundation may request a site visit to the requesting organization.

What the Foundation does not support

Please note that the Foundation does not support political activities or attempts to influence action on specific legislation. We do not provide scholarships or tuition assistance for undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate studies; nor do we support annual fundraising drives, institutional benefits, honorary functions, or similar projects.

"To promote environmental, educational and social progress in America."